Hope and Fall
by Liz Hollow
Summary: Rose Weasley hopes for one simple thing: to get a job working for Draco Malfoy, the king of entrepreneurs. And what better way is there to get a job with him than by hooking up with his son? Rose/Scorpius
1. The Malfoy Empire

"_The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it." – Theodore Roosevelt_

**Chapter One – The Malfoy Empire**

Draco Malfoy: the most important man in Wizarding World history.

Well, maybe not that important. But for me, the key to a successful future in business lay with him, and if I ever wanted to make it big, I needed to make it with him first. He, in a matter of months, became the richest business man in the world, buying up hundreds of businesses around the globe and starting several businesses of his own. Everyone wanted to be a part of the takeover; if you could make it with him and his elite crew of workers, you could make it with anyone.

My parents did not particularly understand my obsession with Draco Malfoy. Apparently they knew the dirty details pertaining to this business king; he underwent a philanthropic change for a while, it seemed, then bought up all of those businesses after inheriting a large sum of money from his now-deceased parents. No one really knew much about Draco Malfoy, since he rarely did anything other than interviews and spending, but my parents knew something.

Interviews were nearly impossible to come by, since Draco Malfoy selected only from those in the top of their classes in wizarding schools around the world, top meaning the best, which I most certainly was not. Young people would stay longer and would be more loyal since other jobs at such a young age were hard to come by, hence the choice of taking from schools. After he ran out of options picking from those students, he picked from the people his son knew and trusted. Then, after interviewing all of those witches and wizards, he picked a select few to be managers and then gave the remainders salesmen jobs.

If I had known all of these details when I was eleven, I would have become friends with Scorpius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's son. Since I lacked the appropriate grades to be in the top of my class (my mother's brains having gone to my brother instead of me, apparently), I needed an in with Scorpius if I ever wanted to reach my goal. Flattering the son of my future employer was the easiest way to get what I wanted, and yet, all during my time at Hogwarts, I had the hardest time.

I discovered what I wanted to do with my life when I was a fourth year, hearing all about Draco Malfoy's businesses and his inconceivable success. Everyone fawned over Scorpius Malfoy, trying to get on his good side so they could be a part of the business empire Draco Malfoy was creating. People became increasingly wealthy under Draco Malfoy, and I needed it. While my family wasn't poor, we weren't as rich as I had the potential to be. I needed to join Draco Malfoy.

Flattering Scorpius became the only option for me when I didn't receive my expected scores on the OWLs, so for all of sixth and seventh year, I tried to win him over, along with every other girl at Hogwarts. Scorpius, of course, was having none of it, and cut himself off from everyone and everything, becoming more and more reserved as the years went on. By the time we left Hogwarts, he had no one but his money, since his father was rarely around to see him, either.

Astoria Malfoy was not, it seemed, much better. Scorpius' mother, immature for her age, spent money like it grew on trees—and for her, it might as well have. She spent more time spending money than spending time with her son, making me wonder if Scorpius even knew what family was. Having always been very close to my family, extended included, I couldn't imagine the pain Scorpius felt by being mistreated.

My options grew slimmer and slimmer, and as seventh year came to a close, I felt defeated. I spent all of my time at Hogwarts trying to bring my grades up, with only moderate success, getting in good terms with Scorpius, with no success at all, and studying books on wizard business. I prepared _only_ for success and nothing else, never considering that I wouldn't be a part of Draco Malfoy's empire. But as I left Hogwarts, I knew I failed, and I had no fallback.

Needless to say, my parents were not horribly supportive, telling me a thousand times over how they knew I would be disappointed and that Draco Malfoy would never hire a Weasley, anyway. That if I had listened to them, I would've known. The entire summer, I sulked in my room, coming out only to eat and use the bathroom, allowing only a few visitors.

After my brother returned to Hogwarts the following September, and I had reasonable peace, I decided that I needed to do _something_ with my life that might help me get into Draco Malfoy's business. No matter what my parents said to me, no matter how much they disagreed with my dream, I needed to prove them wrong. I still wanted to succeed, and failure, however much in my nature, was no longer an option. I _would_ get that interview, I _would_ get hired, and I _would_ succeed.

I asked my uncle George if I could work in his joke shop, only for the business experience. If Draco Malfoy saw that I knew how to work in a business, he might be more apt to hire me. Uncle George hired me at once, putting me in the backroom to do all of his paperwork. While it wasn't the best job in the world, it was business—working for Draco Malfoy would be like this but better (a.k.a. the pay would be better). Once I was rich enough to leave Draco Malfoy, anyway, I would buy my own business and would leave all of the paperwork to my managers.

Despite the fact that everything involving my uncle's joke shop was so boring, my cousin, Albus Potter, helped make it a little tolerable. He began working at our uncle's joke shop a couple of summers ago, and now, with no school, started working fulltime. Al wanted to join his father in the Ministry, working as an Auror, but until the time came to join, he worked at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Together we ran the shop, with Al helping me with everything I didn't understand.

Al knew Scorpius better than I did, having been in many of the same classes throughout school. Scorpius, a Slytherin, and Al, a Hufflepuff, had a surprising amount of classes together, while most of my classes, as a Gryffindor, were with the Ravenclaws. Though the two of them never became anything close to friends, only acquaintances (and once Scorpius broke away from the rest of the world, nothing), it was still better than I could do. The two of them occasionally talked during school, though not for long, while Scorpius generally ignored me.

Unfortunately, using Al to get to Scorpius had not worked particularly well, either. When Albus and Scorpius chatted, I would sneakily come up and join their conversation, inserting myself wherever I could sound intelligent. However, almost every time I did this, Scorpius would make some excuse to leave and scurry away from Al and me. The occasional time he did not leave, he spoke not a word, leaving the conversation to crash and burn.

I received funny looks from Al, but I never told him what I was doing and why I was doing it. I imagined he guessed it at some point, though he made no further effort to help me win over Scorpius. If he thought it immature and naïve, fine, maybe it was. But my future rested in Scorpius' hands, not mine, and by Albus not helping me in my endeavor, I lost everything. I worked in a joke shop now, not a billion galleon empire.

Time passed and Christmas came, forcing everyone and everything into a craze. The snow fell, covering the streets with a white sheet which slowly turned to mud as everyone stepped on it. Christmas trees were cut, sold, and decorated, while families yelled at each other about where the stockings and ornaments disappeared to. Most importantly, though, people came into shops, browsing and buying and screaming at Al and me when we were out of something. Everyone went mad around Christmas, leaving me cowering in the backroom most of the time. I only journeyed into the jungle when I needed something from Al, which I prayed to never let happen.

Uncle George's business was booming, though not so much as Draco Malfoy's. Every now and again I walked down Diagon Alley after work just to look at his stores. They were all modest and classy, with charm and splendor. The stores offered a variety of items, inexpensive and expensive, with tasteful organization and helpful salespeople dressed in sophisticated red and black uniforms. To think that someday I would be one of them, wearing the silky pants and cashmere sweaters, brought my heart to a dangerous speed every time I considered it.

People always went in and came out of Draco Malfoy's many stores. If he owned half of Diagon Alley, I wouldn't be surprised. While Uncle George owned two stores, Draco Malfoy owned a hundred times more, internationally. When I thought Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was having a good day, I went to one of the Malfoy stores and saw them doing even better. I knew it was hard to compete with his stores, but since I wanted to be a part of it, I didn't particularly care. Draco Malfoy always paid a large sum for other stores, and if he bought out Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Uncle George would be wealthy enough to retire now.

Horrible as it was to even think that, since the joke shops were my uncle's pride and joy, it wouldn't be so bad. And maybe it would get me on the fast track to getting a job with Draco Malfoy. I doubted he would be willing to take any of my uncle's previous workers, since it _was_ a joke shop, but if he saw how diligently I worked, it might prove to be beneficial.

I couldn't do that. As much as I wanted to help get this place sold, I was not so coldhearted as to break my uncle's heart. His shop was doing decently at the moment, and for me to interfere with progress would be wrong. I had a conscience. Usually I pushed it back and did whatever I wanted, if just to get me further in life, but I couldn't hurt my family.

Albus came into the backroom to take his break as I contemplated this, trying to decide how I could ever be hired by Draco Malfoy when he didn't even know who I was. I glanced up at my cousin, searching him for an answer that he wasn't about to give. He crinkled his face into a confused expression, tilting his head to the side as he stared at me with his green eyes. Then, reaching for a water from the desk I sat at, he opened it and took a sip.

"Merlin, it's nuts out there today. I've already been yelled at by one little old lady, two pregnant women, a father with a crying daughter, a young boy who was hit in the face by one of the Bouncing Gingerbread Men, and an old man with a cane." He took another sip of his water, watching me over the bottle for a response. I gave none, returning to the paperwork in front of me. "You know those old men with canes are crazy. You have to be able to duck really fast."

I nodded, scratching notes onto some of the papers with my quill. Oh, how I wished I was at one of Draco Malfoy's shops doing this paperwork! It wouldn't be so torturous.

Al set the water bottle back down on my desk, causing me to avert my gaze from my papers. As he started to speak again, I looked back at the paperwork, determined to not get distracted. The less I was distracted, the faster I could get it done and the faster I could leave. My uncle paid me the same whether I was there for four hours or ten, so long as I got all of the paperwork done.

"Christmas this year is at my house, did you hear?" I continued scribbling away, signing documents and crossing lines out on contracts. "The last time it was at my house things ended quite chaotically, do you remember? It was ten years ago, when you and I were both eight, and my father ruined Christmas dinner... dropped everything on the floor. Merlin, it was funny. My mum was so angry, but everyone else thought it was just brilliant." He paused, allowing time for me to give a response which never came. "Hopefully we'll actually get something to eat this time."

I sighed, giving him a response, so he would leave me alone. "Yes, hopefully."

"Well, then, since you're just being so fun and jolly today, I think I'm just going to head back out. I suppose I shouldn't leave Jane all alone out there for too long, right?" He chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. He obviously found some pleasure in torturing his girlfriend, Jane, by keeping her alone in the mob for too long. An intelligent and insightful girl, I often found myself jealous of her wits, wishing that I had her brain instead of mine. Then maybe I would have a hope of getting a job with Draco Malfoy.

Jane hardly ever took breaks, always spending her time checking on customers and working the cash register. In fact, I rarely ever saw Jane at all, since I hid in the backroom while she stayed in the shop. Whenever I went into the abyss that was Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, I found myself being attacked by people and toys. It just wasn't safe out there; contrastingly, at the Malfoy shops, no employee was ever bombarded by Bouncing Gingerbread Men or canes.

Al started out of the backroom when he paused, looking back at me for a moment. I put my quill down, looking at him with narrowed eyes, trying to make him leave. He smiled at me, scratching his chin and looking thoughtful.

"You'll never guess who I saw out here earlier." If he was expecting me to guess, then he was crazy. I didn't play guessing games. Obviously seeing that I wasn't going to respond, yet again, he continued, telling me a name that I wanted to hear. "Scorpius Malfoy."

"What?" I demanded, standing up and walking around my desk towards Albus. How could he not have told me that the boy I wanted to win over, the boy whose father held the key to my perfect future, was in the shop that I worked in everyday? Was he trying to ruin my life? He seemed to be succeeding at it. "I need him!"

Al laughed, his chest moving up and down at a rapid pace. "_Need _him?" He scratched his chin again, putting the thoughtful look back onto his face. I knew now that he was teasing me, torturing me instead of Jane, though this was simply malicious. Al often teased me, if only because I was his cousin, but never as horribly as this. "Goodness, Rosie, whatever could you mean? How could _you_ possibly need _him_?"

"Oh, please, Al." I crossed my arms across my chest, shaking my head. "You know that I've been trying to get an interview with Draco Malfoy, and Scorpius Malfoy is the only way I'm ever going to get one. I need to talk to him, see if he could set me up an interview with his father." Al smirked now, apparently find the situation amusing. "Stop. Did you talk to him? Do you know where he's going now? I can find him…"

"Yes, I talked to him, but he came in a couple of hours ago. I have no idea where he is now. But you do know that it's wrong to use someone to get what you want, right? And I would classify what you want to do as using someone to get what you want."

Yes, I would be using Scorpius to get what I wanted. But if anyone was in my position, I was positive they would do the exact same thing. Using people was part of human nature, and wizards and witched were no exception. Besides, I just wanted to ask Scorpius to get me an interview. Maybe I wouldn't even have to win him over. He knew me. He went to Hogwarts with me! Maybe he'd just put in a good word for me, anyway.

"Fine, classify it as that if you want. But what about your father, huh? Isn't your situation kind of the same thing? You want to be an Auror, but the only reason that you _will_ become one is because your father is in charge. Not to mention, Uncle Harry is kind of a hero. If you don't get in, it would just be embarrassing for your whole family. Even if you're terrible, you'll still get in. Wouldn't you count that as using someone to get what you want?" I took my turn to smirk now, and Al's face turned white.

"No. I've been practicing really hard for this, and I think I could get in without my dad's help."

I shrugged, turning back around to go sit down at my desk. This was perfect. Albus was getting upset, I was manipulating him, and he would do whatever I wanted... Well, if I was good at using people, so be it. Albus was the key to getting Scorpius, Scorpius was the key to an interview, and Draco Malfoy was the key to my future. If it worked, great.

"You know what, fine, do what you want with Scorpius Malfoy." Albus sounded defeated now as planned. I knew him too well. It was his fault for being a silly Hufflepuff; he was humble and terribly loyal. If he could do anything to help his family, I was sure he would do it.

I smiled at him, picking up my quill and scribbling more notes onto the paperwork again. "Okay," I replied, "but you have to help me find him."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

It's been a while since I've written anything Harry Potter related. Sorry about that. I was working on NaNoWriMo last month (and I won!), so I didn't have time to write then. Plus, school has been completely insane. Like, completely. But now that everything is over, I decided to start a new fanfiction. I had some inspiration.

The idea for this fanfiction actually came around when I was thinking about what kind of job Draco Malfoy would have—honestly, he wouldn't. Draco Malfoy and work? I don't think it would happen. Plus, he would inherit a ton of money, anyway. But, if he did have a job, it would be something in business. He wouldn't DO any of the business stuff, but he would hire people to do it for him. You know? Anyway, so that was how I came up with this. Kind of. You know what I mean, right?

So, hopefully my updates won't be quite so sporadic anymore. I'm going to get a banner soon, so once I do that… I dunno. I'll just get one.

Thanks, everyone!

Breakaway615


	2. The Game

"_Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." – Henry Ford_

**Chapter Two – The Game**

I just missed him.

Seeing a gleam of the almost-white blond hair I had come to know and obsess about pass the windows outside the shop I now paraded through, I tumbled over feet and small children to track him down. By the time I fell out of the shop, with Albus gracefully coming out behind me, hands in his pockets and face looking smug, Scorpius vanished. I looked for him in the direction he went, but I saw no more blond hair, no more Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus stepped in front of me, the smug look still plastered onto his face as he moved, and glanced around. His effort, minimal though it was, appeared to help me nonetheless, as he had seen Scorpius move towards that shop in the first place. As he looked around the street, hands folded in front of him now, I heard him sigh. Out of anger or frustration I could not tell, but his patience was beginning to wear thin.

Then, a burst of blond flashed in front of the Malfoy office complex, and I tapped Albus on the shoulder. Scorpius was entering the first place we should have gone, where we could have just waited and ambushed him later. My ticket to the Malfoy Empire worked at the Malfoy office complex, of course.

Albus and I hurried across the street to the Malfoy office complex, trying to catch up to Scorpius before he got too far ahead of us. Once he vanished into that labyrinth, no one could ever get to him. Unless they worked in the office complex, of course—but even then, getting appointments with Scorpius or Draco was next to impossible. Draco only allowed appointments for the most important people; hiring people was just part of the job, unimportant but necessary.

"Scorpius!" I called as I entered the main lobby of the Malfoy office complex, hoping that I might catch him by yelling for him if not physically. I saw that blond head again, flashing a pale face, but walking away so quickly that it was like he had never paused. I refused to give up yet; I stormed off after him, following down the hallway I saw him and ignoring the security guard that requested my identification.

"Young lady! I need to see ID! Do you have an appointment?"

I continued forward, and Albus tapped my shoulder, looking impatient and annoyed. Though he wasn't a coward, he was a conformist, following all the rules no matter what. Everything he did he did with a grain of salt, making sure not to go away from convention, and I knew this bothered him. Anything involving me usually did.

This was it; I caught him. Scorpius, blond hair and all, waited outside a door, looking particularly frustrated. I hurried up to him, and Albus kept right behind me, my key to keeping the Malfoy boy situated.

"Hello, Scorpius."

He jumped, surprised to see my cousin and I standing so close to him. The shock on his face dropped so quickly that it apparently never existed at all, and he greeted Albus kindly, professionally, as if they were business partners instead of friends or acquaintances. Being in his domain, this seemed necessary, as though Draco Malfoy might disown his child if Scorpius acted anything but professional.

Then, he turned to me.

"What do you want, Weasley?" Scorpius looked me up and down with a look I could only consider contempt. All professional demeanors stripped, he obviously no longer cared if his father knew of his behavior. After all, being a Weasley, I expected it to be part of the job. Being rude to a Weasley was far less detrimental to his status than being rude to a Potter.

I winced at this, knowing that my chances of getting an appointment today were slim to none, and my chances of getting in Scorpius' pants even slimmer. These things took time, and as long as I got the job, I would work night and day on wooing Scorpius Malfoy until he became mine. Temporarily, of course.

I needed to work into it; you couldn't just jump into a flirt and expect anything to come from it—especially since this was Scorpius Malfoy. He would know, fittingly, that I was looking only for a job, not a chance to be with him. He needed to see the real thing, the true infatuation, and he needed to feel it.

"Rose, actually. I would prefer if you called me Rose." I threw in a little bit of attitude, causing Albus to look at me with a surprised expression. He didn't understand—he didn't understand the game, the world of business… nothing.

Scorpius continued to appear contemptuous, shaking his head as if he knew what I was here for. "Fine, _Rose_, what do you want?"

I smiled. "Actually, Albus wanted to talk to you. I'm simply here because he is." I gestured to my cousin, who now appeared more confused than ever. Hoping and praying that he played along, I backed away from Scorpius, releasing the apparent omnipresent tension and pushing Albus in front of me.

"What?" Albus demanded, so quietly that I barely heard him. I flicked the back of his head, and his clutched it, rubbing it and glaring back at me. "Merlin." Turning back to Scorpius, he spoke up, speaking in friendly tones. "Hey, Scorpius. I just wanted to thank you for stopping by the shop today…"

Scorpius appeared skeptical, seeing right through Albus' lame attempt to sound convincing. My cousin—legally an adult at this point, sad though it was—looked back at me for help. I frowned at him, putting my hands on my hips; he turned back around.

Scorpius looked at the door beside him and frowned. "You came all the way here to thank me for stopping by your store, even though I come in at least once a week?"

I blinked, confused. _At least once a week_? Albus knew that the man, who I needed so desperately to reach my life goal, came into my current workplace at least once a week? And he recurrently failed to mention this to me, somehow finding it necessary to tell me Scorpius Malfoy came into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for the first time today? What kind of cousin was he? He obviously lacked concern for my future; it was so close I could almost touch it—no, I could literally reach out and touch it—and yet Albus was pulling me further and further away.

"Uh… no." Albus reached into his pant pockets, fumbling around for something. I sincerely hoped that he knew what he was doing now, or he was getting it for not telling me about my key. Luckily for him, it appeared he did know what he was doing; he pulled out some trademark sweets, holding them out to Scorpius. "You left these at the shop earlier. Since you _did_ buy them, I thought I ought to return them to you."

"Calming Candies?" Scorpius took them from Albus and examined them. "I'm entirely certain that I didn't buy these."

Albus glanced back at me again, looking defeated. I pretended to look at the door Scorpius kept staring at, wishing I could see through it. Albus sighed, turning back to Scorpius again. "You did buy those. You left them on the counter."

Scorpius shook his blond head, crossing his arms. "I'm sure I didn't buy them."

"Guess someone else did," I inputted, and Scorpius looked at me with his continuous scornful appearance. "Nice, Al, you had the wrong person. Sorry for wasting your time, Scorpius." I smiled at him, beginning to turn around when Scorpius stopped me.

"Wait." Scorpius glanced at the door once again, before facing Albus with a smile. "Al, do you think you could allow me to speak with your cousin alone for a moment? I just need to speak to her about something privately, for only a moment." His eyes flickered to mine and then back to Albus', a coldness flashing through them that could easily be missed.

"Not at all," Albus replied, turning to me. "I'll just be in the main lobby."

I nodded, watching him go back out to the main lobby. I wondered if the security guard would give him a hard time, or if he wouldn't even register that Albus was with me. Surely that guard would allow Albus to get away with sneaking in (and hopefully Albus, being the conformist that he is, wouldn't admit his bad deeds)—if only because he looked just like his father.

"You're not here for Albus; you're here for a job, Weasley." I turned back to Scorpius, seeing his look of contempt transform into pure loathing, like my name made me vile, trash, dung. "I need not remind you that I was not interested in helping you get a job at Hogwarts, and I'm certainly not interested in helping you get a job now. Stop wasting your time and go back to wherever you came from. I'm busy."

I felt my eyes narrowing, my heart beginning to pound ferociously against my chest. I didn't want to push this in the wrong direction, but seeing as it already was moving that way, I couldn't stop myself.

"Need I remind _you_, Scorpius Malfoy, that my uncle saved your father's life once, and my dad saved your father's life a second time? You don't have to like me, nor do you have to like my father or our name. I don't care what your opinion is about my family. But you do owe me, since you wouldn't even exist if it weren't for my father and my uncle."

His face dropped, all color flowing into his face to turn his cheeks a bright red. "I… well, yes, I suppose that's true… but…" He looked at the door again, as if begging for it to open for him, to give him something to use against me. Sure, this had not been my plan upon coming, but if this kind of tactic worked, I was completely okay with it.

"That's blackmail!" he suddenly exclaimed, and I put my hands on my hips. "I could have you arrested, Weasley!"

I rolled my eyes. "And who'll arrest me, my dad? My uncle?" I smirked, knowing I won. Nothing Scorpius could do could get me in trouble. Using people worked—having a famous father and an even more famous uncle was just a bonus.

"No, but my dad has strings in the Ministry that no one else has. If he says jump, they jump, and you better believe that if he tells them to arrest you, you're gone." Well, damn. "Sure, it may hurt my friendship with Albus, but I'll get over it, and I'm sure he will. You appear to frighten him more than anyone else, and I'm quite positive that he'd be happy to get rid of you. He didn't want to come here today, even. Losing you would bring him a peace he wouldn't even recognize."

I turned back to look down the hallway, searching for Albus and knowing I would have no luck in seeing him. Facing Scorpius again, I submitted to him, allowing myself to lose even though I had every reason to win. Sacrifice was part of the game, and I could win later if I lost now. If I failed now, I could begin again later.

"Fine, fine." I held my hands up in a surrendering position, taking a couple of steps away from him to prevent further damage to our failing (or, rather, nonexistent) relationship. "I apologize." Scorpius seemed doubtful, raising his eyebrows so high that I thought they might just float away from his face, so I put a hand out to him. "I'm serious. I'm sorry. I didn't come here to have a fight, and I promise I didn't come here for a job. I only came because Albus wanted to stop by for a little chat. You just struck the wrong nerve, you know? Please, I'm very sorry."

He stared at my outstretched hand for a few moments, deciding whether he believed me or not. I knew he would believe me, of course; I put on such a convincing show that my mother might have even believed me.

A loud bang from the room next door made Scorpius glance over again, and the two of us stood there staring for a couple of moments. We could hear indistinguishable shouting, the anger in someone's voice booming. I dropped my hand, walking closer to the door. The noise in the room became louder, more unclear, but only because the man was now screaming in harsher tones.

"Is that your da—"

Scorpius grabbed my arm and yanked, taking me away from the door and pulling me out into the main lobby with him. I struggled, trying to get him to let go and even threatening to pull my wand out on him, but he ignored me. He let go when we reached the lobby, and Albus, having been speaking with the security guard about something, rushed over to me. Scorpius crossed his arms and backed away, looking upset.

"Scorpius, wait!" I called as he turned and walked away from me, hurrying back down the hallway he had just pulled me out of. I ran after him, but the security guard cut me off, stepping in front of me and obscuring the hallway from my sight.

I pulled my wand out of my pocket and pointed it at the guard. Before he even knew what I was doing, I shouted, "_Confundus_!" The once-resilient expression that was plastered on the security guard's face was now gone, replaced with a dazed look.

He looked me over, nodding apologetically. "Sorry, ma'am, go right on through."

I hurried in after Scorpius, catching him on the stairway at the end of the hallway. "Scorpius, stop! Scorpius—oi, Scorpius, stop!" I ran up the stairs, yanking on Scorpius' arm at the first landing. He hadn't been expecting it, and I nearly pulled him down on top of me.

Which, you know, wouldn't have been horrible.

"What?" he demanded, turning on me and looking pissed. I stepped back, almost tumbling down the stairs. Scorpius reached out, grabbing my shoulder and steadying me. I pretended not to notice how this was the second time he touched me in the last five minutes—apparently, he couldn't keep his hands off me. Nice.

"You know, if you stop by the shop I can give you something that will help you hear what your dad is saying." Extendable Ears—simple, a little outdated, but perfect for this situation. They would do the job and do it right, allowing Scorpius to hear everything he needed to and more. "They're kind of old and only available to my family now, but they will seriously help you. You might have heard of them—Extendable Ears?"

Scorpius' eyes widened, either surprised by my offer or by the person who was offering it. "Are you serious?"

I grinned. "Stop by Weasley's Wizard Wheezes later. I'll give you everything you need." Winking, I turned and hurried back out to Albus.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Heh, it's been a while. But I swear, I have reasonable excuses. I was just in a show, and I worked very hard to be a part of it. There were lots of ups and downs, a lot of extra hours put into it, a lot of drama, put it worked out okay. The show actually managed to be really good—despite having a traumatic dress rehearsal experience.

Then, other than the show, I've been working on all of my schoolwork, my too-many clubs, my scholarship stuff, random other stuff. It's been nuts.

Now, everything is beginning to wind down. So, I should hopefully begin to update more… regularly, I suppose.

Here is chapter two! It's slowly getting more interesting, but I promise it'll be funnier and more… great later. I can't say more than that because I don't want to give anything away. But, you know, this is a romantic comedy fanfiction, more or less.

But that's all I'll say.

Disclaimer, disclaimer. You know the deal.

I'll update soon!

Breakaway615


	3. Extendable Ears and Eli

"_The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same problem you had last year." – John Foster Dulles_

**Chapter Three – Extendable Ears and Eli**

Jane, apparently melancholic that she had been abandoned for so long, took the rest of the day off from working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and brought Albus with her. (I was particularly annoyed; she never bothered taking breaks when we _were_ there.) I managed the shop alone, with nothing better to do than help customers find what they needed and wait for Scorpius Malfoy like a puppy left at home on a family vacation. The customers bombarded me with complaints and repining, mostly distracting me from thinking of the tall, blond, and handsome man I so desperately need. Every once in a while I would look up, expecting him to appear, but it didn't happen.

I expected Scorpius not to show up after all I went through to find him, after the first couple hours of waiting around passed. When I looked out the window to search for him in the crowds outside the shop door, I saw nothing, and I wondered if he was planning on coming at all. Maybe I wasn't the only one playing hard to get. Maybe he was playing impossible.

"Hey, Rosie," a deep voice called from behind me as I wandered the store, looking to help customers. It obviously wasn't Scorpius, as his voice wasn't nearly so deep; I therefore turned to face the man with a disappointed demeanor. He looked so elated to see me, like a little kid with a lollipop, and his happiness never faltered, even upon seeing my annoyed expression.

"Eli… it's so nice to see you." I went back behind the counter to help another customer pay (which I normally would have put off until the last minute, but seeing as I needed an excuse to get away from him, I decided to go early). Eli proceeded to lean against the counter beside the woman I was helping, saying nothing. I chose to ignore this, focusing on my customer rather than the puppy following me around; the woman, however, appeared quite bothered by Eli, giving him hard looks every once in a while I was making her transaction.

After I finished helping my customer, I walked back around the counter to make sure the shelves were fully stocked, just to stay away from Eli. But, like that lost puppy, Eli followed me again, watching as I pulled my wand out and began moving boxes of items onto the empty shelves. Just for laughs, I flicked my wand, dumping a box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' signature candies on top of Eli's head. I heard him shout, heads turning as I ran over to him with fake concern.

"Merlin!" I exclaimed, feigning surprise; I wasn't sure if he knew I was faking, but he looked at me with narrowed eyes that gave me the feeling he did. "Eli, I am _so_ sorry! I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean to drop all of these on you. I guess I just stopped the spell too soon, that's all, and they just took a fall above your head. Here, why don't you take one of those candies as my apology? It really was just an accident."

I picked one of the candies off the ground, still wrapped, and handed it to him. His eyes lightened, a grin forming on his face as he took the candy from me.

"You're a funny girl, Weasley. Explains why your family owns a joke shop, I guess. You're pretty witty."

I smiled back at him before pulling out my wand again and putting the candies back in the box on the floor. Then, flicking my wand again, it flew away into the backroom of the shop. At least Eli was taking this well, with a laugh. Eli Browning wasn't such a bad guy. Annoying at his worst, he was charming and handsome at his best, with a smile beautiful enough to make even my heart flutter. Gorgeous, popular, he had it all, and he usually got away with being annoying when he flashed that smile.

Back at Hogwarts, Eli had been in Ravenclaw, one of those strong but smart types, a guy with both brawn and brains. Whether he used those brains or not was a question I pondered constantly, at least while within the general vicinity of the man, but he definitely used his good looks to his advantage; he probably dated half the girls in our year, including me at one point (before I got obsessed with Scorpius Malfoy), back when I didn't care how annoying he was. He didn't lean on counters during other people's transactions back then.

"How have you been, Rosie? I don't think I've seen you since we left Hogwarts, and that's been a while. I've missed you." His grin transformed into one of those beautiful smiles, and, with a flip of his brown hair, I melted. I wasn't sure he actually missed me, but who cared?

"I've been fi—"

"Hey, Weasley," a different voice interrupted, and I turned around to look into Scorpius Malfoy's eyes. Now, even after looking forward to his coming, I felt another wave of disappointment as he interrupted my reunion with Eli, especially when he was being so damn charming. I was, after all, a girl, and I enjoyed being flirted with.

But, now that I thought about it, this would double the hard-to-get, wouldn't it? It would drive both boys crazy—two boys for the price of one.

"Hi," I responded, glancing between the two, who looked so strained to be in each other's presence that I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Unspoken words seemed to pass between them, words I was certain I would never want to hear, and both boys tore their eyes away from each other and looked at me. I jumped from grey to brown, a transition between cold and dark, which, despite the different, were exactly the same.

"Rose," both boys said at simultaneously, and my eyes traveled between them faster, making me dizzy.

"Eli, I'm sorry, but I actually promised Scorpius that I would help him with something. It was nice seeing you today, though." I faced the person whom I addressed, my back to Scorpius, smothered between the two. Smiling apologetically (for real this time; as fun as it was dumping candy on Eli, I _did_ remember what he was like when the two of us were together, and he wasn't _such_ a bad person), I hoped it would lighten his hard expression. Eli only looked angrier, staring at Scorpius with the same contempt that Scorpius had shown me earlier today.

Then, as Eli took his eyes away from Scorpius and placed them on me, he replaced that expression with another smile, making my stomach churn. "Okay." His eyes flashed to Scorpius, the smile plastered on his face. "It _was_ nice, wasn't it? You know, I think we should go out sometime. I'll come back tomorrow and take you out to lunch."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the blond head bobbing uncomfortably, waiting for this conversation to be over. Then, as Eli left (not even waiting for a response from me), he brushed past Scorpius, shoulder touching shoulder, eyes on eyes.

Well, that was sufficiently awkward.

"All right, so, should we do this or what?" I looked at Scorpius, at his grimace, and smiled again. I was winning this all right, with the help of Eli, getting my Malfoy boy exactly where I wanted him: wrapped so tightly around my finger that he would get me that job. I just needed to get him to like me, or at least _want_ me, play around with Eli (who would most definitely return to set up that date), and Scorpius would be mine.

I led Scorpius to the counter, where the cash box, magically protected with a charm to prevent robbery, lay beneath. I faced him again, this time looking at him with veritable solemnity. He appeared taken aback by my serious expression, as if my even having one was unfathomable. But I pointed a finger at him, as if to reiterate my sincerity, then grabbing his shirt (a nice fabric that could easily be wrinkled, much to his chagrin, I was sure) and pulling his face so close to mine that our noses were touching.

"Now, listen, Malfoy." I noticed his eyes widen, however subtly, and snickered to myself. "I'm going in the backroom to go get a pair of the Extendable Ears." I was barely whispered, making sure no one else could hear that I had them. I was not going to summon them, as to show him how much faith I had in him, how much I trusted him. He would absolutely respect that and lay his loyalties with me. "So, I'm going to trust you to watch the shop while I'm back there and make sure that nothing goes wrong?" I walked behind the counter, lifting the curtain to the backroom. "Oh, and if I come back out and find the shop in chaos, I won't give them to you."

He nodded, and I disappeared behind the curtain to grab the Extendable Ears. The backroom was a mess, hence why I typically summoned items out of it. On one side of the room, an office (if it could even be called that) was set up against the wall, with a chair, a desk, some random pieces of paper and bills spread out across the desk, and a light. The rest of the backroom was taken over by an area for inventing and experimenting new items—no one except my dad and my uncle George was allowed in that designated area, and if anyone stepped in it, on accident or otherwise, they could find out—and the "stockroom" (a.k.a., an area in the backroom with piles of joke stuff). It was nearly impossible to find anything, but the more time I spent looking for the secret stash of Extendable Ears, the better.

I started in the stockroom, looking through the piles of boxes for any sign of the Extendable Ears. I doubted they would be mixed in with the rest of the stock since they had been taken off the shelves years previous, but this was Uncle George's mess. I never knew where anything could be; I just knew he had a secret stash here.

My dad had been getting in trouble at the Ministry because of the Extendable Ears; workers and other people had been buying them to eavesdrop on other conversations—very confidential conversations that weren't meant to be heard. He forced my uncle to take them off the shelves, threatening to shut the shop down if Uncle George refused. So, the Extendable Ears were taken away, hidden in the backroom for family-use only.

I moved to the experiment section of the backroom, glancing within the designated area from outside the line. I couldn't see anything, nor would I probably be able to if I could even go into the experiment area. Thus, I moved to the office space, rummaging in the drawers of the desk to see if I could find them. Nothing.

"_Accio Extendable Ears_!" I exclaimed, hoping something would happen. Nothing, again. Of course Uncle George would put an anti-summoning spell on them to keep people from finding them. I knew they were here, though, and if I just thought, I would find them. Uncle George always had a funny way of thinking, at least in my opinion—if he hid the Extendable Ears, where would he have placed them?

Moving the papers scattered across the desk, I noticed a sliding piece of wood. I pulled it out, slowly, silently, though I knew no one would discover me. Then, reaching into the darkness of the desk, I felt something deep within it. Pulling it up, I set the Extendable Ears on the side of the desk, slid the wood back into its slot, and scattered the papers again.

I headed out of the backroom, closing the curtain behind me, and looked around. Everything appeared fine, but Scorpius was missing. Shoving the Extendable Ears in my pocket, I put my hands on my hips and looked around. Then, the flash of blond appeared within the crowd of people, and I watched it; Scorpius was helping an old woman decide what to buy, it seemed.

I watched from afar, seeing the Malfoy Empire protégé in action. I had to admit, he looked like such a decent man that I almost felt horrible about using him. Then, I remembered, I would get something out of it, so it really didn't matter what I did.

"Thanks," I said to him as he walked back over to the counter, and he looked at me with eyes full of disbelief. "No, really, thank you. I think that old lady really appreciates you helping her; she's buying something for a grandchild, can't decide what to get, gets lost in the mess of people trying to find some object that the grandchild would like… You saved her, Scorpius."

"How did you know all that?" Scorpius was watching me with curiosity, hoping I would take out the Extendable Ears and show them to him, but I didn't. I didn't have to use the Extendable Ears to know; I worked here long enough that I could just tell what people wanted when they wanted them. Some people were harder to figure out than others, but I could read most people like books. Everyone was here for a reason, with some story, and I just had to know what it was.

"I just knew it." Scorpius blinked, confused, and I sighed. "It's a part of working at a business like this. People want certain things; they all have a mission. Whether that mission is picking out something specific or just browsing, they all have one. It's my job to make sure they buy something, and buy a lot, not to make them happy. But I want to help with their mission, not complicate it." Scorpius raised a blond eyebrow, and I continued. "Businesspeople sell things. That's what makes them businesspeople. But shouldn't it be more than that? Using your inference skills to the max, reading into what people want and what they don't, listening to their stories? Business should be personal… not just a paying job."

I looked at all the people in the store, scanning them for information. "That man with the gray hair and blue shirt, he wants to get something for his wife… look at his determined expression. The lady standing near him with the yellow dress and light brown hair, she wants something for her boyfriend. Similar situations, different people… so, they have different stories and missions. That boy over there, with the black hair and green t-shirt, wants to stock up with candies to get out of classes at Hogwarts next year. That girl, though, while still Hogwarts' age, just wants something to impress her friends with."

Glancing back over at Scorpius, he appeared astounded by my insight. Maybe I just had a way with people, however lazy I was on occasion, and that was why I wanted to work with the Malfoy Empire. To get the job, to be rich, to be part of the prestigious group… and to change the way people looked at business.

Scorpius had a way with people, too. Seeing him help that old lady, saving her, I knew everything would change when Scorpius got his hands on the Empire. He seemed to make it a lot more personal than it needed to be, like me, getting involved in something that didn't have to. He did, after all, help her when he didn't even work her, when I was just asking a favor of him. He didn't even like me much, at the moment, but he still went ahead and made it his job. He made it personal.

"You know," Scorpius started, his grey eyes on my blue ones, "my dad isn't really fond of getting involved in the lives of his customers."

I stared back out at my own customers, shrugging. "I _do_ know. But you are."

He appeared taken aback again, not offended by my comment, but not entirely pleased by it, either. His need for involvement had to be one of the reasons he wanted to eavesdrop on his father. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the Extendable Ears and showed them to him; he reached for them, but I pulled them away, cradling them in my hands.

"You can keep them if you want, since I bet you'll want to use them again later. Please make sure no one else finds out about them, though. I don't want anyone to know that I've given them to someone…" I would never hear the end of it from Uncle George, my dad, Albus, or even my brother, who enjoyed holding those things over my head. "I think that's about it. Deal?"

Of course, there was the unspoken quid pro quo. I helped him, so he had to help me. Pushing it wouldn't help, though, and so it remained unspoken.

I held out my hand, and he stared at it for a couple of moments. A couple of different thoughts seem to travel across his face in that short time: uncertainty, confusion. But as he reached for my hand and grasped it, a flash of something else passed over his face.

"Deal."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Boy, this chapter was filled with alliteration—did anybody else notice that? The chapter title, the chapter itself. There was just alliteration all over the place… and yes, even though that's more of a poetic term, I still think it applies to prose.

Holy moly, did you all see how quickly I updated?! I mean, it isn't astoundingly fast, seeing as it's been a few days, or maybe a week, but it's still not a couple of months. I've been writing during my classes, silly me, whenever we're not doing anything important. And since it's the end of the year, that's a lot of the time. We're all getting so bored, and so we distract our teachers. Hehe. I know, I know, that's bad, but I try to focus! I'm probably the only one not distracting them—because I'm writing!

This chapter actually didn't turn out the way I originally planned. What I was going to have happen this chapter did, but there was more to it. I figured too much was happening, though, if I kept everything I wanted in this chapter, so I pushed a fair amount of it over to next chapter. Everything will still work out fine, though, don't worry. I just didn't want to overwhelm you.

Eli, isn't he a doll? He'll be back. Just so you know. I didn't just throw him in there for the heck of it, just to make Scorpius jealous. Nope, he's quite important.

Anyway, I think this author's note is long enough. Disclaimer, disclaimer. I don't own anything, etc.

See you!

Breakaway615


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